The Key to the Soul
by Angel-chan2
Summary: [Kingdom HeartsSoul Reaver crossover] Sora and his friends crash land on a strange new world and encounter a mysterious figure... Just wanted to make a crossover of my 2 favourite games! FINALLY UPDATED!
1. A New World

Disclaimer: OK, I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully. I don't own Soul Reaver or Kingdom Hearts; Soul Reaver belongs to Eidos Interactive and Kingdom Hearts belongs to Squaresoft and Disney Interactive.

Angel-chan: Hey, all! Angel-chan here, along with my body guard, Fallen Templar!

Fallen Templar: Hello.

Angel-chan: Yep! I'm back, and bringing you an all new story! OK, this is my first crossover, so no flames. It's a Soul Reaver/Kingdom Hearts crossover. I'm going to try to make everyone sound as in-character as possible. Oh, and don't mind the spelling for some of the dialogue; I did that on purpose to make it sound as close to the character's dialogue as possible (i.e. Donald's way of talking...). This story takes place after Soul Reaver 2, and before the visit to Hollow Bastion (in Kingdom Hearts). So, on with the story!

Note: _Italisized words_ are thoughts. CAPITALIZED WORDS means really loud yelling. Underlined words mean emphasis. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was quiet in the First District of Traverse Town. There was hardly anyone in the streets. The few people that were there (moogles included) were silently standing around, minding their own business.

Just then, out of the Accessory Shop walked a particular trio that stood out from the small crowd — a short, stubby figure, a medium, slender figure, and a tall skinny figure. The short figure was actually a white duck, dressed in a blue shirt with many zippers and a matching hat. The second person was a young boy with spikey brown hair and cerulean eyes. He wore a red outfit, along with white gloves and large yellow shoes. The third one of the trio seemed to be quite a charicature of sorts, resembling an exageratingly tall dog of some kind, walking on two legs. He had a green and blue shirt with cartoonish-looking pants and shoes, topped off with a silly-looking hat.

The three walked toward the large double-doors at the front of the town, which led to the World Exit. The tall dog was the first to break the silence.

"Uh, gawrsh, Sora, where d'ya think we should head fer now?"

The boy, addressed as Sora, turned to his comical companion. "Well, Goofy, I guess we should go to Hollow Bastion. After all, that's where Leon said Maleficent was waiting."

Maleficent. That very name felt bitter on Sora's tongue as he said it. She was the one who had turned his best friend, Riku, against him. _I promise, Riku, I'll get you back._

Sora gazed up at the sky. So many stars — no, they were not stars; they were worlds. _How many worlds are there? Could they really be as countless as the stars themselves?_

The duck piped up impatiently. "Sho, what are we waiting for? Let'sh get on da ship!"

Sora snapped out of his reverie and looked down apologetically at the impatient duck. "Right. Sorry, Donald."

With that, they boarded the Gummi Ship.

*~*

Flights from one world to another were personally not one of Sora's favourite things to do. Yes, he had always wanted to see other worlds, but not when there were Heartless airships to worry about and obstacles to crash into. It made the trip a bumpy ride. And bumpy rides had a tendancy to make him feel... well... motion sick. Even now he didn't feel very 100% well. Using the tactic that his mother had taught him in handling motion sickness, he stared out the window and tried to focus on the horizon... Wait, what horizon? This was outer space! Sora sighed and decided on trying to focus on the farthest object instead.

It was then that he noticed something strange as the Ship passed by. There was a Warp Hole, but one that was very different from the others that he and his friends had encountered. Instead of the usually vibrant colours, this Warp Hole was nearly pitch black, with some tints of dark blue and red swirls.

__

A black hole? Sora wondered. "Hey, Donald," Sora said, pointing to the dark vortex. "What do you think that is?"

"Looksh shushpicious... Better to shtay away from it." Donald replied, steering away from the strange hole. However, something was terribly wrong... The wheel was jammed! And the vortex was pulling them right into it!

"Donald!" Sora cried frantically, "The black hole is pulling us in! What's wrong?!"

"Da wheel's shtuck! It won't move!!"

"Gawrsh," Goofy said rather nervously, "It's gettin' awfully close...!"

Desperate, Sora grabbed the steering wheel and helped Donald pull the wheel with all his might.

It was no use. The wheel wouldn't budge. Goofy watched helplessly as they drew closer and closer towards their inevitable fate, Donald flailing his arms wildly and screaming random obscenities, and Sora persistently trying to move the stubborn wheel.

It was too late.

"Gawrsh! We're gettin' sucked in! Hang on!!"

The Gummi Ship disappeared into the swirling vortex, and the last of the trio's desperate cries dissipated into the hole.

"GAA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HUIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Then everything went black.

*~*

Sora groaned as he regained consciousness. Were they still alive? What exactly was that thing? He slowly opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the sun's bright light. He shielded his eyes. Blinking to allow his eyes to re-adapt, Sora forced himself up into a sitting position and looked around at his surroundings. He was lying on what seemed to be a dusty path, with a few trees here and there, and he could hear water somewhere closeby. But despite the sun's bright rays (along with several scattered clouds), Sora could sense a dark atmosphere in this place. Where were they?

The young boy quickly scanned the area for his comrades. Sure enough, the duck and the dog were present, both randomly sprawled out on the ground, groaning.

"Ungh... Where are we...?" Donald moaned, rubbing his sore backside.

"I'd like to know myself," Sora replied, standing up.

Donald jumped to his feet as well, and crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, we won't find out by dallying here!" the little duck chimed enthusiastically. "Let'sh go exshploring!"

Goofy, who had just regained consciousness, sat up groggily and rubbed his head.

"Oh, g'mornin', fellas! Hyuk!" Apparently, Goofy was still ignorant of the group's new task.

"C'mon, Goofy!" Donald prompted. "Let'sh get going!"

Goofy stared blankly at his two companions. "Uh... Where're we goin'?"

Donald shook his head and sighed irritably, while Sora stifled a laugh.

*~*

Soon the group was up and on the road again. However, no sooner than they had gone more than five paces from their starting point, did a familiar black mist — several, actually — appear with a poof and was replaced with a strange form.

"Heartless!" the trio cried in unison.

Heartless indeed. They were everywhere. And these were of a different species to boot. Some looked like some kind of werewolves, while others resembled deranged and mutated vampire bats. (A/N: Thanks to Demon Hunter Anamae for the ideas as to how the Heartless should look!)

The three heroes prepared for battle. As usual, Donald attacked mainly with Magic, Goofy defended and used occasional Shield Techniques, and Sora hacked away at the Heartless with his trusty Keyblade.

However, no matter how many Heartless were destroyed, two more seemed to pop up to take their place.

"It's no use!" Sora cried. "There are just too many of them!" A Heartless knocked him down, making him vulnerable for attack. He glanced over to see that his other two comrades-in-arms were both stunned. These Heartless were strong! Stronger than any Heartless he had encountered before! The creatures were now closing in for the finishing move. Sora couldn't do anything else but shield himself with his Keyblade and prepare for the worst.

Suddenly, there was a sound that was heard nearby. Every Heartless turned in alert to the origins of the noise. All of a sudden, three Heartless disintegrated. With another strange shriek, five more were reduced to dust. Sora only managed to see a flash of light before four more of the monsters ceased existence. The rest of the Heartless, now afraid, retreated into the shadows.

Goofy and Donald recovered, and looked over at Sora, who was staring in awe at who — or what — had just saved his life. Before him was the silohette of a tall, mysterious figure. Its shady features were hidden by the shadows, but Sora could swear that he could see a pair of glowing white eyes...

~ to be continued...

Angel-chan: Ooooh!! Evil cliffhanger!! *laughs evilly* So, like it? Hate it? If you loved it, please review! If you hated it, then don't bother. If you flame, then Fallen Templar will get to test out his new "toy" on you...

Fallen Templar: *fingers his flamethrower tenderly*


	2. Chance Meeting

YEHA!! Finally I'm back!! Sorry for the long wait; I was extremely busy... Dang Biology semesters... Anyways, I also apologize in advance, as this chapter might be a little bit boring; there's not too much action in it, and I really suck at introducing characters. Nevertheless, I'm going to try... Please go easy on me... I promise I'll try to make the other chapters more interesting. Oh, yes! And I must also accredit Demon Hunter Anamae for encouraging me to do this fanfic and assisting me when I was in a real jam. Thanks, DHA!

WOW!!!! 16 reviews already!! I feel so loved... ^_^

jennifer-valentine - I'm glad you loved this story so far... And yes, I'm just as disappointed about my SR2 Outtakes; It was my best fanfic! *sniff*

Bloodthirsty - FWEE!! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!

Demon Hunter Anamae - Again, thank you so much for your support and assistance, and vanquishing my writer's block (for now, anyways)! Thank you!! ^________^

Ryu - I'm really glad you liked it. Thanks for your review. BTW, your question has already been answered via e-mail - it all started when Fallen Templar saved me from the rabid Director in my SR2 Outtakes...

MB - Yep, I'm continuing now! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who likes both Kingdom Hearts AND Soul Reaver.

Fallen Templar - Hey, FT! ^_^ It's good to see that you've finally started your own account! And I'm honoured that you put me in your fave author's list! ^_____________^ BTW, I'd like to see what you'd put in your Bio in your profile... I don't know why, but I usually like reading those; some people say interesting things in their Bios...

Rocker Baby - Yes, you SHOULD'VE had more faith in me. Ah, well. That's okay. *hugs RB*

My, rather violent, are we? LOL, yeah, Riku IS quite a dish... It's a shame that he became a bad guy for some time... But, at least he became good again in the end. And I must say, his voice sounds surprisingly mature for a 15-year-old...

ShadowHawk - Yeah, don't we all hate cliff hangers? But this fanfic is now being continued!

Syvia - Here's a new chapter for you! ^_^

Silveriss - *gasp* You haven't played Kingdom Hearts yet?? You should try it! If you're into Squaresoft, Disney, and crossovers, then you'll love it! Oh, yeah, and thanks for reviewing! ^_^

Infinity kazier - Yes, I'm writing more right now. I'm glad you like it.

LadyRune - Yes, it DOES somehow seem right, doesn't it? That was why I felt so compelled to write a crossover with these two games. Besides, they're my most favourite games.

Jazzmaster - I'm glad you enjoyed it, despite the fact that you found it a little strange at first; I guess I thought it ironic how, of all games, I wanted to combine a morbid, gothic tale with a Disney-ish, "cute" story... I guess I just wanted to do this because it was the most unlikely combination.

Raven-Marrs2000 - OK... I guess because you had put "to be continued" on the last chapter of your story, I had thought it was going to be continued. Oh, and just for future reference, "antagonist" means the "bad guy", and "protagonist" means the "good guy".

Angel-chan: Okay, now, with all that said and done, on with the fanfic!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sora gawked with a horrified fascination at the shady figure before him. He couldn't tear his gaze away from those fiery eyes. The white flames glared back in return. They seemed to narrow at him, and then the silohette stepped forward. Its foot made a strange scratching sound as it touched the ground again. Sora slowly lowered his gaze and averted his attention to the foot that came into view. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw that it wasn't a foot; it was some kind of hoof with two very large taloned toes. Whatever this thing was, Sora knew it wasn't human. As the whole figure came into clear view, Sora began to hate when he was right.

The creature was indeed not human, though its form was somewhat humanoid. It seemed to resemble a man to some extent, but it had no skin and had blue muscles that were completely exposed. It had black hair, like that of a human, but where the abdomen would have been, there was a gap from the lower chest to the pelvic bone, leaving nothing more than an exposed spinal cord to hold the anterior and posterior ends together. Around the lower half of its face and upper chest was a brown cloth. It had three taloned fingers on each hand, and these claws seemed to have blood stained on the tips...

Not wanting to be in a vulnerable position should this thing suddenly attack, Sora scrambled to his feet.

"Wh-What are you?" he wondered outloud, hoping the creature could speak. Perhaps he could learn more about this world if it could.

The creature glared at him suspiciously. "I am what I am," it icily replied in a dark, masculine voice with an archaic tone. Whatever this thing was, "it" can certainly be classified now as male. "But answer me this," the dark figure continued, "Who — or what — are you, and how did you come here? You are clearly not from Nosgoth; your apparel is quite unusual, and your... 'comrades' —" he gestured toward Donald and Goofy — "are not exactly of local populance."

Offended at this, Donald jumped in front of Sora and resumed a fighting stance. "Oh, yeah?!" Donald exclaimed, "Who do you think you are, ya monshter?!" With that, he charged at the blue creature, much to Sora's objection.

A "hmph" came from the creature, and he merely pushed his cloven hand against Donald's forehead and held him back at arm's length, watching as the impatient duck flailed vainly in a pathetic attempt to land a hit on him. Finally, pushed beyond his impatience, Donald pointed his staff at the cloven hand and shouted "Fire!". At that, a fireball shot from the wand and struck the aforementioned target, burning it. The creature stumbled back a bit, slightly taken aback by this bizarre phenomenon.

__

What sorcery is this?! he wondered. He quickly regained his cold composure and glared at the duck, and then the trio watched in fascinated horror as the wound immediately healed itself.

"First of all," the creature replied, slightly angered, "I am not a monster; if I were, I would have killed you three on a whim. Second, I am Raziel, and do not forget that."

Goofy cowered behind his shield. "Gawrsh, this guy sure is scary!"

"Raziel, huh?" Sora said, ignoring Goofy's comment. "I'm Sora. And these guys are Donald and Goofy." Donald folded his arms across his chest and glared, while Goofy waved shyly behind his shield. "Uh, anyway," Sora continued, "What did you say this place was again?"

"Nosgoth," Raziel replied.

"Uh, Naz-wut?" Goofy blurted.

"Nosgoth," Raziel repeated. He turned his back to the trio and began to walk away. "And if you plan on wandering around in Nosgoth, I would advise against it; this place has become even more dangerous than it already has been ever since those strange creatures mysteriously appeared."

"Strange creatures?" Sora inquired.

"Yes. Those creatures you had just encountered. They are ravaging this land, and I must destroy them, for Nosgoth's sake."

"Wait!" Sora called out. Raziel stopped and turned his head. "We know what those things are, and we're trying to stop them, too. But we obviously can't do this alone... Say, Raziel, you think maybe you could join us?"

"What!!" Donald and Goofy cried in unison.

"Uh... Trinity huddle!" Donald shouted.

"Will you excuse us, please?" Sora said politely to Raziel as the three huddled into a tight triangle. Raziel folded his arms across his chest and waited patiently as the trio discussed.

"What are you doing?!" Donald whispered loudly at Sora. "We don't know if we can trusht thish guy!"

"And besides," Goofy contributed, "He's scary!"

"And Halloween Town wasn't?" the weilder of the Keyblade retorted. "C'mon, guys. I know that he looks suspicious, but right now, he's our only chance; he knows more about this world than any of us! Besides, I think we'll need all the help we can get when facing the Heartless. Did you see how he defeated so many in one blow?"

"I shtill shay thish ish a bad idea."

"Uh, gawrsh, Donald, I think Sora's got a point. Maybe we should let 'im join, y'know?"

Donald sighed in reluctant submission. It was clear that the decision was unanimous. "Oh, alright," he sighed.

The trio broke up their huddle and faced Raziel. Sora stepped forward and cleared his throat. "S-So, uh, after much... discussion, we agreed to let you join us..." A pause. "If you want to, that is..." he quickly added.

Raziel thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Very well. I suppose I shall join you in your quest." Suddenly his expression grew stern again. "But know this: simply because I am joining you does not mean I trust you. And if I sense betrayal from you in any way, our alliance is over."

"Deal." Sora replied. Donald and Goofy gulped. What had the Keyblade master gotten them into?

~to be continued...

Angel-chan: Yes, I know this particular chapter was lame, but I was basically trying to write around a writer's block, and that's hard. Dang, I get writer's blocks so often! -_- And I'll try to make the chapters longer next time. Remember, no flaming, otherwise, you'll have to answer to him. *gestures toward Fallen Templar, who is looking stern as usual* Oh, yeah, and one more thing: *clears throat and takes a deep breath* MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. A Fragile Alliance

Angel-chan: I am so, SO sorry I took SUCH a long time to update this story! *ducks from all the watermelons thrown at her*

Fallen Templar: *glares*

Angel-chan: *to FT* It's OK, I deserved that. *to reader* Anyways, I sincerely apologize again. I had been in a writer's block for the LONGEST time (yes, you CAN have a writer's block for that long… At least with me, anyway. @_@), and then I even lost interest after a while. But now that I finally have free time again, I'm starting to get back into it! ^_^ And I WOULD reply to all the reviews, but there are just too many of them! So, instead, I'll just say: Thank you all SO much for your reviews, and your patience! Shall we move on, now?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So, what do you propose we do now?" Raziel asked.

Raziel and Sora walked down the dusty path side-by-side, Sora walking with his hands behind his head, staring contemplatively at the sky. In truth, he actually wanted to avoid looking at Raziel, for fear of offending him by staring.

"Hmm…" Sora murmured, closing his eyes for a second. He opened them again and addressed Raziel — again, whilst avoiding eye contact. "Are you familiar with a thing called a 'Keyhole'?"

He could feel the undead creature's fiery gaze turn to him. The boy shrugged a bit uncomfortably.

"A 'Keyhole'?" Raziel asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know of various strange keyholes throughout this world; many of which guard certain shrines, which can only be opened by the Reaver."

Sora blinked. "The 'Reaver'?"

Meanwhile, trailing several meters behind the talking duo, Goofy, trembling and hiding behind his shield, slowly and cautiously followed them. Donald was hiding behind the frightened dog.

"G-G-G-Gaaaaawwrrsh," Goofy stammered. "Th-That guy sure is sc-scary-lookin'!"

"Aw, phooey!" Donald replied sulkily. "He'sh not sho tough." He looked on sourly as Sora and Raziel appeared to be discussing something serious.

"Uhh, but Donald, you were barely able to scratch 'im." Goofy replied. "'Sides, yer scared of 'im too, aren't ya?"

"Aww, I'm not shcared of him!" Donald said confidently.

"Uhh, if yer not scared of 'im, then why are ya hidin' behind me?" Goofy scratched his head, slightly confused.

Donald quickly walked out from behind Goofy and strutted forward. "Ah, what do you know, ya big palooka?!" the little duck retorted defensively.

Despite his "fearless" claim, however, Donald continued to keep his distance from Raziel, but only walked along-side Goofy, rather than behind him.

"Uhh, what do I know?" Goofy wondered, scratching his head again. Donald shook his head at his friend's idiocy.

The two looked ahead at Sora and Raziel again, and were alarmed to suddenly find Raziel brandishing a glowing blade on his arm seemingly at Sora! Their sense of duty kicking in, Donald and Goofy rushed to them.

"What do ya think you're doing?!" Donald shrieked at Raziel, jumping between the undead creature and the boy. He readied his staff and pointed it at Raziel.

"Donald, wait!" Sora cried, grabbing Donald's wrist. "It's okay! He was just showing me what a 'Reaver' was."

"Uh, a 'weaver'?" Goofy asked.

"A 'Reaver'." Raziel corrected, holding up the glowing sword again. Donald was immediately on his guard.

"Hmph. I see your friends still fear me." Raziel said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. The ethereal blade vanished back into his arm, and he continued to stare at his hand contemplatively. "It comes as no surprise. With a form like this, how could anyone look at me in any other way than fear?"

"Raziel, I'm really sorry about this!" Sora quickly apologized. "It's nothing personal, it's just that Donald doesn't trust people easily."

"Nor do I." Raziel replied sternly.

"Then why don't ya jusht leave?!" Donald said fiercely.

"Very well." Raziel replied flatly. "I see you never did wish for my assistance, so therefore following you any further would simply be a waste of my time." With that, he turned and walked away.

"Raziel! Wait!" Sora called after him. The vampire wraith did not stop. The boy glared sternly at the stubborn little duck.

"There, are you happy now?" he said crossly. "He was our only guide to this world and now you chased him away!"

"Ah, phooey." Donald replied. "He couldn't be trushted anyway."

Sora headed off into the direction Raziel had gone, but not before turning back to Donald again. "I'm going to go find him. When I bring him back, I expect you to be ready to apologize to him."

"What?!" Donald cried. Him, apologize to that creature?! Since when was Sora to boss over them, anyway?!

"I'll be right back! Goofy, Donald, wait there!" Sora called before running off.

"Okie dokie, Sora! Hyuk!" Goofy replied cheerfully, giving a friendly salute. Donald sat down and sulked as Sora ran off.

Why was he to blame for being cautious? It was obvious this 'Raziel' creature could not be trusted. He looked ready to disembowel them at any given moment. It was Donald's sworn duty to protect the wielder of the Keyblade, and protect him he shall! Sora just had to be so trusting just because this freak of nature supposedly 'saved his life'. But Donald knew better. He knew that a creature that looked like that couldn't be safe… right?

"Aw, phooey." Donald grumbled. He stood up and stomped off in another direction.

"Uhh, Donald? Where're ya goin'? Sora told us to wait here!" Goofy called him.

The hot-headed duck turned to Goofy. "Sho? Sinsh when was Shora the bossh of ush, anyway?" He continued to wander further into the forest. Goofy hesitantly followed.

*~*

A shady hooded figure stood over a basin of some sort of cauldron, staring intently into it. Candles surrounded the basin, illuminating the dark room, casting ominous shadows. Within the cauldron were reflections of a blue, half-corroded corpse walking away from a trio, a boy with brown spiky hair chasing after him, and a duck and a dog walking in opposite directions.

The hooded figure smiled malevolently, its long, bony fingers grasping a staff intently.

"Excellent… Divide and conquer…"

~to be continued…

Angel-chan: *looks at chapter* Hmm… This definitely changed a lot more from the original outline than I had intended… Meh, it's all good. I hope you liked it, and I'm sorry it's such a short chapter (especially after you all waited for SO long). Once again, I'm SO sorry for taking so long! *sweat drops* Please review, and no flames, otherwise, you know what'll happen.

FT: *glares at anyone who would dare flame*

Angel-chan: Hope you enjoyed this, and have a great day! ^_^


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